I'm SO GLAD to hear I'm not the only one who is on the endless asthma learning curve. It was only a month ago it took another person's post to have the light bulb go off in my head about why DS was propping himself up at night crying etc. and wasn't sleeping. Asthma seems to come in different forms every time and I have really had to learn I can't just expect and look only for the big 'wheeze'.

The roller coaster ride is much more, well not enjoyable, but comforting knowing I'm not alone.

No Problem, momtobunches... He is on QVar and has been for a couple of weeks. I think it's working, but the cold seemed to catch him before it worked 100%.

I just talked to a nurse for the Asthma Clinic Triage at the ACH, and they were very helpful and gave me a lot of good information. It's a long wait to get in, but they gave me a lot of good information to go back to our doctor with. I'll also be getting an action plan written up, now that I know what the process is.

I'm going through that as well.. It is a huge learning curve, the night waking and cdrying covered in sweat (no wheeze, just a cough that sounds "off") is exactly what happens here as well. I'm going to see my doctor tommorow actually to get a plan, and some control medication, because we average 10-12 doses of ventolin a week, which is a lot!

The roller coaster ride is much more, well not enjoyable, but comforting knowing I'm not alone.

I hear you! I don't know where I would be without people to chat with that have done this before.

What gets me is that when they ask the questions for asthma screening, they always ask if DS wakes at night because of it. He's never woken at night (except nightmares), even falling off of the bed doesn't wake him so I always said no. He's had pneumonia a few times and doesn't wake up, unless I wake him. He coughed every night and every morning for as long as I remember, and occasionally in the middle of the night, but never woke. The more I learn, the more I realize he's had this for a long time and, despite my raising the flags, has never been caught. I think it is pretty mild for us right now, but from what I understand it can turn in a minute (as we found out a few months ago) which is really what I'm afraid of.

We've got our doctor's appointment in 10 days, so I'm hoping that he isn't affected by the September increase in asthma. We at least have a verbal plan from the Asthma Clinic Nurse if we need it.

cauger, I hope all goes well with your doctor's appointment, and thanks for sharing. I really do find this all very helpful, even if I don't quite know what I'm doing yet!

The more I learn, the more I realize he's had this for a long time and, despite my raising the flags, has never been caught

I hear you there.
When our son was about 10 months he started to cough all night every night and it went on for weeks on end. I even started to wonder about asthma but when I took him to the dr. (2x) to ask if it was possible he had asthma I was told it wasn't possible for it to asthma so young. He continued to cough non stop for almost 8 weeks until at 12 months he ended up in hospital with a huge and very scary asthma attack which took 2 days for them to control. Sometimes we know what our parents intuition is telling us but others aren't listening!!!

Asthma is such a tricky beast. I watched two nieces, my brother and his wife all struggle with it. (My brother is the genetic link!) The 2 girls learned control, and the younger one who's now is high school, is a nat'l level softball pitcher with a wicked curveball. It can be done - hang in there, moms.

Also, should point out: we've now got a whole new asthma section on this site, reachable by the teal tab under the logo. Or direct link is:http://allergicliving.com/index.php/category/asthma-2/

Don't miss the sections on the left on Asthma Control, etc. The medications piece was written for us by Jolant P., a Cornwall pharmacist and CAE whom Claire and I think is excellent.

DS1 is under control for the most part and we think we know his trigger - mold. He had an asthma attack a couple of weeks ago that lasted three days, right after he was playing in the leaves. Couple this with an ear infection 2 days in and we had a nasty few days! We also spoke with a CAE and she helped us understand a lot!

DS2 just got out of the er with his first asthma attack, and thanks the my new found knowledge we went in knowing the signs and caught it before he needed oxygen and an overnight stay. We think it was triggered by a cold and it could have been some cat dander thrown in too. The grandparents have a cat and came for a visit last night. I guess we have yet to have an asthma diagnosis since it his first sign of asthma, but I fully expect it to happen again.

Ah well, thanks to all of the info I have received here, I am a much more knowledgeable person, despite some of my experiences.

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